How a couple of country people live a full and frugal life in the city.

Back Bay Mystery: The Tellus Institute

One of the things we really like about our neightborhood is that it’s such a great area to explore. We have a lot of fun walking around and finding cool little details in the buildings. Sometimes looking closely leads us to a mystery. I’m going to write a few posts on these and hopefully we can work together to figure them out.

The Tellus Institute is in a beautiful old building at 11 Arlington Street, facing the Public Gardens. We’ve always been intrigued by the bronze plaque and the mysterious-looking entry. What is the Tellus Institute?

A quick search online leads you to their homepage. There we find the institute’s mission statement:

At this perilous juncture in human affairs, Tellus Institute works to advance a global civilization of sustainability, equity and well-being through research, education, and action. We are at the cusp of a new historical epoch – the planetary phase of civilization – that binds the world’s people and the biosphere into a single community of fate. But what form of global civilization will emerge in the coming decades? In the face of unfolding crises – cultural antagonism, violent conflict, economic volatility, environmental degradation – pessimists may be forgiven for their dark forebodings and dreamers for their doubts. Or is another world possible?

We live in a challenging era, a time when a culture of greed and mania for growth undermines human amity and degrades the planet. Yet, we still have time and world enough to shape an alternative future where the health of the environment, the breadth of human solidarity, and the quality of lives become the legitimate measures of development and true wealth. The key to such a Great Transition is the capacity and willingness of the world’s citizens to gain new insights, embrace new values, and take common actions.

Tellus is an independent voice for advancing these goals. Rooted in analytic rigor, the Institute’s projects offer visions of hope and strategies for change. Now, more than ever, we are committed to researching critical problems, developing scenarios of the future from the local to the global, and mobilizing networks for a Great Transition.

As I explore their website, I can’t help but think of the Dharma Initiative from LOST. It looks like the Tellus Institute has commendable goals but they definitely give off a creepy “utopian” vibe to me. Do you know anything about them?